By Mark DaCosta- Calls are mounting for an independent, transparent investigation into the gunfire in Kitty late on October 12 and into the early hours of October 13, with activist and social commentator Egland Gomes among those demanding accountability.
Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed has described the incident as an attempt on his life, while police say a firearm was recovered from his vehicle. The sharply conflicting accounts demand a credible investigation that establishes the facts, identifies any wrongdoing and protects public confidence in the rule of law.
Our nation woke on Tuesday to a political crisis. The Leader of the Opposition and two companions were in police custody after gunfire in Kitty, Georgetown, close to the home of the head of the Guyana Police Force’s Special Branch, Senior Superintendent Prem Narine.
Police say the shooting occurred shortly before midnight on Barr Street. They say Narine, hearing what sounded like a gunshot as a vehicle passed his residence for a second time, discharged his own weapon. Police later said he did so after coming under fire. The car was stopped at the junction of Vlissengen Road and Sandy Babb Street. Inside were Mr Mohamed, 39, his relative Mario Mohamed, 25, and the driver, Eugene Thorne, 35.
Officers reported recovering a Taurus .32 pistol with no serial number beneath the accelerator pedal, along with a magazine holding three live rounds. All three men were arrested for possessing an unlicensed firearm and ammunition, and the matter is being treated as discharging a loaded firearm with intent.
Mohamed’s account is very different. He says the men were filming what he considers a wasteful deployment of state resources outside Narine’s private home when shots struck their vehicle, and the driver sped off in fear. He insists he knows nothing of the pistol and alleges it was planted after the arrest. He also says he was assaulted.
Initial reports said an early check of the car turned up nothing, and that the weapon surfaced only at the police station. Police have not publicly answered these claims. They say the men were swabbed for gunshot residue and that the pistol, ammunition and spent casings have been secured for examination.
The history between the two men makes the dispute more delicate. Narine is a witness in the United States extradition proceedings against Mohamed and his father. Reports say that last month, under cross-examination, he conceded that Mohamed had never been arrested, interviewed or charged over killings mentioned in his testimony.
Activist and outspoken Indigenous Guyanese commentator Egland Gomes addressed the incident in a Facebook post on Tuesday, insisting that the country must demand accountability while allowing the evidence to establish what occurred.
“Guyana deserves answers, accountability, and the rule of law,” Gomes declared.
He cautioned against treating the allegation of an assassination attempt as proven without evidence, but warned that allegations involving senior public officials must not be dismissed.
“Credible allegations involving senior public officials” must not be ignored, he stressed.
Gomes called for Senior Superintendent Prem Narine to be “immediately interdicted from duty pending a full independent investigation.” He also copied his appeal to the President, the Guyana Police Force, several foreign missions and international bodies, pressing for an investigation capable of establishing the facts and ensuring accountability.
Whatever the truth, the stakes reach beyond one night in Kitty. If the Opposition Leader’s version is correct, it would mean state security agents shooting at a political rival. If police are right, it would mean an armed incursion by a national political figure near a senior intelligence officer’s home. Either possibility corrodes trust in our institutions, and the divided response to the incident already reflects that.
According to a retired police officer, the way forward is evidence that can withstand scrutiny. That means ballistic comparison, forensic analysis of the pistol and the residue swabs, a clear chain of custody for the weapon, and any available camera footage. Because a principal witness in a related extradition matter is also at the centre of this episode, the case for oversight by an impartial body is strong. A fragile peace and a growing economy depend on citizens believing that justice in our country is not dictated by political allegiance.
